Don't let the robot teach. Teach with the robot.

Biography

Dale Basler has been in education since 1995 when he started at the Office of Science Outreach for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. As the Internet began to take steps toward its position in today’s society, Dale began to develop his skills as a web site designer. He worked as a web designer for Science Outreach and several other non-education sites until 2001.

In 1998 Dale started his teaching career with the Appleton Area School District as a science teacher at Appleton West High School in Appleton, Wisconsin. At West High School, Dale created one of the district’s first websites for students. The website offered students tutorials, online quizzes and other tools to help them become successful in class. The website was the first of only a few in the nation that allowed students (and their parents) to login to the site and monitor their grades. The following year Dale moved across town to teach physics at Appleton East High School. He continues to hold this position today.

In 2001, Dale began to serve the state’s science teacher organization, the Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers (WSST), as WSST’s webmaster. In this role, Dale was able to shape and legitimize the organization’s presences on the Internet. As webmaster, he searched for ways that the website could provide professional development opportunities for science teachers– and ultimately their students.

In 2002, Dale entered into a new role as the co-chair of WSST’s state-wide annual conference. He spent two years planning and preparing a conference that provided Wisconsin science teachers the chance to attend 15 workshops, 15 field trips and 125 sessions. During this time as co-chair, Dale scheduled the sessions and workshops to create a well-rounded program of opportunities for the organization’s members. Still working as webmaster, he created an online program so members could search for their favorite session by subject area, level, and presenter. This program also had a system that is now used within WSST to schedule the workshops and sessions. After 2004, the conference chairs that followed have been able to create their own online programs using this system.

At the 2004 conference, Dale was elected President-Elect of WSST. He has been on the WSST Board of Directors for the past three years. Two of those years Dale served as President of WSST. He is currently in his final year on the Board in the role of Retiring President.

During the past years as a leader in WSST, Dale has not forgotten his goal to provide more enriching resources for science teachers. As webmaster he created a clearinghouse of local professional development opportunities outside of the organization’s annual conference and created WSST’s first blog– the WSST Lab Table.

In June of 2006, Dale started Periodicity, the podcast of the WSST, with co-host Brian Bartel. Each week the podcast delivers science news and science education with leading scientists, researchers, science writers and other important figures in the field. Periodicity has been quite successful. The program has done interviews with local Wisconsin guest on topics such as the science of cream cheese and agricultural education. Dale has interviewed guests with national significance such as authors Nicholas Wade and Chris Mooney, the Mars Exploration Rover Project’s Steve Squyres, biologist Sean Carroll and Flock of Dodos filmmaker Randy Olson. Dale now co-hosts and produces this show under a new name, Lab Out Loud, to a national audience for the National Science Teachers Association.

Dale has applied his podcasting skill to his own classroom by creating BaslerCast—a weekly podcast that for his physics students to review class notes, watch video of in class demonstrations and work through sample problems. Dale has received both local and national recognition for his continued success with the integration of new technologies into the classroom.

In January of 2006, Dale added the position of Technology Liaison to his assignment at Appleton East High School. In this role, Dale helped teachers use technology to increase productivity, analyze data and assist instruction. Dale also communicated building technology issues with the district’s Information Technology department.

This position expanded into Technology Curriculum Integration Specialist in 2011. In this new role, Dale collaborates with instructional staff at Appleton East High School by co-teaching and planning effective instruction with teachers while maintaining a focus on the use of technology in the teaching and learning process.

In 2012, Dale stepped away from teaching science to take on a full-time position as Technology Curriculum Integration Specialist. Dale supports five elementary schools, two charter schools, and two middle schools in the Appleton Area School District. Dale provides coaching, training, and curriculum integration strategies with the goal of having teachers and other instructional staff integrate technology competently and consistently district-wide.

Dale lives in Appleton, Wisconsin with his wife Jennifer and their three children, Joseph, Andrew and Abigail.

About Dale

In between his time as a husband and father, Dale Basler is
a Technology Integration Specialist, independent consultant, podcaster, and web page designer who specializes in work for
institutions and organizations in education.